Dolphin Tours

Hilton Head is home to a resident population of wild bottlenose dolphins, and they are not shy. The island's tidal creeks and harbor channels are prime feeding grounds — dolphin sightings on a tour are practically guaranteed. Not the "we saw a fin for two seconds" kind, but real, sustained encounters where dolphins swim alongside the boat, breach the surface, and occasionally strand-feed on the mudflats right in front of you.

Lowcountry Watersports runs dolphin tours out of Palmetto Bay Marina, with multiple options including narrated group tours and private charters. The naturalist guides know exactly where the dolphins feed and rest at different times of day, which is why the sighting rate is so consistently high.

Strand feeding is a behavior unique to the dolphins of the South Carolina and Georgia coast: they work together to herd fish onto the mudbank, then slide up onto the shore to grab them, then wriggle back into the water. It's one of the most remarkable wildlife behaviors in North America — and Hilton Head is one of the best places in the world to see it.